Visitation
by hughville
Summary: Cameron visits House in prison.


**A/N: This takes place during House's stint in prison at the beginning of S8.**

**Disclaimer: I most emphatically do NOT own _House_ or these characters.**

Everything is gray. The walls are gray, the floor is gray, the table is gray and the steel chairs are gray. Allison Cameron chose her outfit carefully for this visit. She twisted her long blonde hair in a tight knot on the back of her head, she wears a simple black suit, silky white shirt and back stilettos. Tiny silver hoop earrings glint in the fluorescent light of the visitor's room. She folds her hands in her lap and waits. A guard opens the door and House limps in to the room. He stops just inside the doorway and stares at her. She stares back. The guard gives House a nudge to send him farther into the room and then closes the door. Cameron can see the guard standing just outside the door. She looks back at House as he sinks down in the chair across from her. His hair is longer than she ever remembers seeing it. His beard is thicker and his tan makes his eyes appear bluer. He wears a blue shirt over a white t-shirt and dark pants. He leans his cane against the table and folds his arms.

"So, what brings you here?" he asks conversationally. A slight smile curves his lips. "Come to make sure they're taking proper care of me?"

Cameron tilts her head and stares at him.

"I almost expected you to show up at my trial," he continues, "proclaiming my innocence."

Cameron bites her lip and continues to stare at him.

"Did Wilson send you?"

Cameron remains silent.

"He hasn't visited me. Everyone else has except Wilson. Of course, he might still be mad that I ran over him a little bit."

He unfolds his arms and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You're not the new Dean of Medicine, are you?" he questions, narrowing his eyes. His tongue flicks out to wet his lips. "It'd be just like Cuddy to lure you back to torture me."

Cameron continues to stay silent, watching him.

House sighs and folds his arms on the table. "So why are you here? I know you didn't fly all the way from Chicago to stare at me."

He stares at her and a heavy silence presses down on them.

Cameron watches his face as he watches her. There are more fine lines around his eyes and more silver in his beard.

"You're an idiot," she says.

House laughs. "Is that why you're here? To state the obvious?"

"Wilson called to tell me that you and Cuddy were a couple," she tells him. "I told him you wouldn't last a year and that you would end up doing something stupid. He told me that this time, with Cuddy, it was different. He said you loved her and were really trying to make the relationship work." She laughs bitterly. "He called every week to update me."

House dips his head and stares at his hands.

"I kept telling him you would do something to sabotage the relationship. Then she's the one who did."

House looks up at her in surprise.

"She expected you to be someone you weren't. She always did."

"So when I ran my car into her dining room did you tell Wilson iI told you so/i?

Cameron shakes her head. A few strands of hair have slipped loose from her bun and frame her face. "He didn't call me after your stupid stunt. Foreman did. He wanted me to come back and help him run your department. I said no."

"So, why are you here now?"

Cameron stands and smoothes her skirt. "I just came to make sure you were finally paying the price for your arrogance."

House watches as she walks to the door. Before she can knock, he is up and standing behind her.

"I'm not allowed to touch you," he tells her. "So I can't drag you back to your seat. But you don't get to throw out something like that and then just leave."

The guard opens the door and Cameron tells him she just needs to stretch her legs. The guard nods and closes the door. House gestures at the table and sits down again. Cameron stands behind her chair.

"Just what exactly do you blame me for?" he asks her bitterly. "You're the one who chose to have sex with Chase and then marry him. You're the one who chose to blame me for Dibala's death. You're the one who chose to leave."

Cameron folds her arms and blows out a breath. "You're the one who said you don't like me. You're the one who told me I only liked you because you're damaged. You're the one who chose Stacy, hookers and Cuddy over me. You're the one who made it impossible for me to stay."

"I lied," House says softly. "Everybody lies. You told me you were over me. You said you jumped on the bandwagon and you hated me. What did you expect? I'm twice your age-"

"Oh, shut up, House! Those are all excuses. You always have excuses! I didn't care about your age or your leg. I loved iyou/i! But you didn't want me. Was it because I wasn't cruel enough to you? Should I have tripped you, stolen your cane, insulted you all the time and belittled you? Cuddy did all those things and you were with her for nearly a year. Should I have authorized a surgeon to cut out a chunk of your leg without your knowledge and then left you? You tried to break up Stacy's marriage after she did that to you. Was I not enough of a self-absorbed bitch for you?"

House sits silent and unmoving, his eyes downcast, his face devoid of expression.

Cameron panted slightly and stared at him. "Well?"

"I didn't want to ruin you," he says softly.

"You broke my heart, House. That ruined me," she whispers.

She moves to the door and taps on it. The guard opens it and she disappears around the corner.

"Back to your cell," the guard tells House.

House rises slowly and grips his cane. Once out in the hallway, he can see Cameron at the gate leading out. She passes through without looking back. House follows the guard back to his cell and stretches out on his bunk. He spends the rest of the day staring at the ceiling and occasionally rubbing his eyes.


End file.
